


You Have Me.

by orphan_account



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-04-16 05:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14157789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Haru Okumura visited a café she'd never heard of. Thanks to an abandoned flying flyers of the hidden café, she found it. Arriving inside, she never expected that the one who'll serve her orders is oddly familiar to her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place after Persona 5. I'll try my best to headcanon what happened to Goro Akechi in post-game or after the game, since the game treated him like he disappeared out of nowhere. (like a flame torch — shakugan no shana reference here.)
> 
> Also, I like the combination of this ship. Everyone has their own opinions entitled, but I like how this ship goes squeezing me that angst.
> 
> I'd like to apologize in advance that maybe I have grammar or spelling errors, slow updates, or if you think that the characters portrayed here are a bit OOC. Constructive Criticisms are warmly welcome.

**H** aru Okumura is sitting on a type of cogswell chair. She thought that the chair compliments the café’s interior very well. She thankfully got here first before other people can sit on this chair. She’s feeling sitting on a seated cushion today rather than the wooden chairs of the café.

It was her first time going to this café. She wasn’t aware that there’s a café around the area, thanks to the abandoned dirty flying flyers around that was maybe deliberately or destined to be seen by her, she found the café. She never heard of people talking about it around her. Strangely enough, the café’s name was ‘Le Noir’, not only it reminded her of Le Blanc but also her Phantom Thief name.

The café looks modern rather than Le Blanc who had more vintage feels into it. She really loves going inside the cafés. The smell of the roasting bean of coffees just relaxes her, although she’s more of a tea avid. When she entered inside this café, she was greeted by a fine young man who addressed her as a ‘master’. She thinks that the staff around here addressed their customers as ‘master’.

She was handed a menu and take a look of what shall she order in an early morning. She looked at the prices of each drink and food, they look fine. There’s other cafés that offered cheap and expensive prices rather than this café. She finally decided what to eat for her today’s breakfast.

“Good morning, Master, what is it you’d like to order?” Haru heard a voice, it obviously belongs to a waiter who’s getting her orders, it’s peculiar that she knew someone owns this voice.

She finally took a look to the person who asks for her order. She was completely stunned.

 _He’s_ oddly familiar.

He blinks, and then followed a light chuckle, “Am I really that stunning, Master?”

The way he talks, it reminded her of someone whom she used to be with in their Phantom Thief adventures. That someone looks like this man who stands in front of her who’s holding a pen and small notepad. The difference is, this man’s hair had a short hair cut compared to the someone she knew. It can’t be him, right?

“Akechi-kun?” That name slipped from her tongue, in which she quickly covered her mouth using her right hand. “N-No… I…” Oh, she wanted to slap herself from making her slip that name.

She heard a light hearted laugh from the latter, “Master, I believe you have mistaken me for other person, correct? If you wish to know my name, can you please state your orders first?” When Haru called him as ‘Akechi-kun’ he doesn’t seem surprised at all, in fact, he rather looked he didn’t even know her.

She is aware how _Goro Akechi_ acted so innocent in front of the former Phantom Thieves. She sensed that there’s something weird about him, like how he suppresses something inside of those beautiful smile and ever-cheerful talks. This person, it seems like it’s stranger to her, somehow she sensed the connection to Goro Akechi. Maybe the physical appearance of this man?

On that day, where they defeated the poor Crow, he sacrificed himself to defeat the threatening shadows in order for them to escape the palace. The aftermath is that, they never heard a single word about him nor him appearing on his scheduled shows. It’s really odd how media completely forgotten about him. They heard from Sae Niijima, Makoto Niijima’s older sister, that she heard a word from the investigating team that Goro Akechi has gone missing but this news was never released in public.

They were eager for updates, hoping for him to come back and repent his whole life by spending inside the prison. But after March 20XX, he was declared dead. His cold body was found floating on the sea as the report stated, but they never got to see this body personally because the body turned ashes by burning him using fire. The investigation team did their best to capture who’s the perpetrator, but it was never found as the case remained unsolved.

It’s almost seven months since Goro Akechi’s death. She’s certain that she can forgive, but she can never forget what happened to her father.

She cleared her throat before answering. She composed herself from that embarrassing situation, “I’d like an Earl Grey Tea and Power Breakfast. Make it a French Toast, Two Eggs, Bacon, and Sausage please. Also, I’d like a warm water as an additional.”

He started to write on the notepad where he’s listing the orders of the café’s customers. When he finished writing, “I’ll repeat your orders, Master. An Earl Grey Tea and Power Breakfast. The option you chose are French Toast, Two Eggs, Bacon, and Sausage. And you also like a warm water.”

She nodded.

He said, “I received a confirmation, Master. Please kindly wait for your orders to arrive.” He closed the notepad, “And Master, my name’s Haruto Suji, a full-time waiter in this lovely café.”

 _Haruto Suji_. His first name sounded like her name.

“Right.”

“Suji! You’re chatting again!” The young man who greeted Haru earlier when she entered inside the café yelled to the waiter who introduced himself as Haruto. “You shouldn’t keep the other Masters waiting.”

Haruto looked apologetic at his co-worker, “Sorry, I can’t help it.”

“As usual Suji, a real ladies’ man.” The young man jokingly said.

Haruto looked at Haru, “Well then, I shouldn’t keep the other Masters waiting for their orders to be written. We’ll see each other again, Master.” And the he flashes a smile before he left Haru’s table.

Haru clenched her smartphone. She wanted to take a picture of the man, Haruto, but isn’t that illegal without his permission? It’s because she wanted to send this picture to their group chat and tell them that she met someone who oddly similar to Goro Akechi’s appearance. She decided not to take a picture, since she doesn’t really know the side story of Haruto.

She watched some stuff like this in dramas or even read it in novels. A person who believed to be dead is actually alive, the cliché? This person gained some sort of amnesia that’s why they’re different from their past selves. She thinks that what if Goro Akechi disappeared and he’s not dead but actually got an amnesia? It appears when Haruto saw her, he doesn’t seem to recognize her or anything, maybe an effect of amnesia or Goro Akechi and Haruto aren’t the same person.

Everything is not a coincidence, that what Haru believes. She decided that she’ll get to know more about Haruto Suji, whether he is Goro Akechi or maybe not. For her, this is worth of her time, who knows maybe she could solve the unsolved case of Goro Akechi. It wouldn’t hurt to give a try, right?

While she was waiting for her order to arrive, she slipped her hand inside her bag to get her textbook. She finally got to do what she really wanted to do, it’s also thanks to Takakura who helped her managing the company when her father died. He was supportive and always gives her a message that she should always do her best in her studies. Takakura became like a father figure to her. She will try her best in her studies, in order to achieve her dreams to build her dream café.

“Sorry for the wait, Master. Here are your orders,” Haruto served her orders, and started to place the plate and tea cup on Haru’s table. “Earl Grey Tea, your Power Breakfast, and a warm water. Please enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She politely thanked him.

“You’re very welcome, Master. Gladly to serve you at our finest.” He smiled and gave a brief bow.

Before he could take a step, “Uh… If you don’t mind, can we have a short exchange between us?” Haru hoped that he would agree.

“Oh? Falling for me already, Master?” Haruto teased.

“N-No! I absolutely guarantee you that it isn’t about that.” She didn’t expect that kind of question from him, which made her surprised and slightly embarrassed but quickly recovered.

He gave her again a light chuckle, “I’m just joking, Master. You’re really amusing.” He said, “A short exchange? I see, but I’m afraid I cannot grant that, Master. I’m a very busy man as you see, I do personal matters aside.” He added.

“That was rude of me… I apologize.” Haru said and then she thought an another idea. “What about after your work? Is that good?” This time, hopefully he would agree.

Haruto pondered. After a few seconds, he finally got an answer. “I do not have a proposed schedule after my work today, so I’m free. Is it okay for you, Master, to wait for me for such a long time?”

“I’m the one who asked for it. So, yes, I’ll wait for you.”

“Just for a short exchange? Master, you shouldn’t waste your time for some things like this. I’m sure you have a lot of things to do.”

“I assure you that I don’t have important things to do for today. I wouldn’t offer you a short exchange if I was indeed busy.”

Haruto smiled, “You’re persistent, Master. Interesting.” Haru didn’t heard his word after ‘master’. “I think it would be rude to refuse, but it’s embarrassing that a fine young lady like you would wait for a man like me. Well then, I’ll try my best to wrap this up. Let us meet later, Master.” Haruto finally accepted and walked away from her table to resume his work.

Haru was relieved that Haruto finally accepted her offer of short exchange. She happily sipped the Earl Grey Tea and ate the Power Breakfast she ordered to fill up her stomach while waiting Haruto’s shift to be over. When she finished eating, she will surely drink the warm water.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And nope, this is not the end of the story yet.

**G** oro Akechi is hiding in the shadows. He carefully looked the academy that has been lately talked in any forms of media, the Shujin Academy. It’s time for their students to be dismissed. He can see some Shujin Students who went outside of the school, cannot get over talking about what happened to the school’s Volleyball Coach and former Professional Athlete, Suguru Kamoshida plus the Phantom Thieves (as what they have called themselves).

Not a single student nor random people passing by can see him. He already studied the file that was handed to him, about how Kamoshida willingly confessed his crimes publicly in the Shujin’s gymnasium and submitted himself to the authorities when yesterday he wasn’t the same person. Of course, the authorities wanted to confirm themselves whether Kamoshida committed crimes or he was forced to do so, but they were shocked that Kamoshida indeed committed such disgusting crimes.

But despite the fact Kamoshida himself confessed, it was still a mystery as why he suddenly got a change of heart when the reports of some Shujin Students and the Volleyball team testified that they can’t believe themselves either that he confessed since that’s impossible to happen but they thanked the Phantom Thieves for that. He is wondering, how did exactly the Phantom Thieves changed Kamoshida’s heart?

He wanted to throw away the suitcase he’s carrying, but it’s not the time to be frustrated like this. He desperately wanted to know how exactly Phantom Thieves change hearts. He had gathered enough information about the Metaverse, so how exactly did it happened when he is the one who knows all of it? Or did he really already know all of it?

On the second thought, Goro shakes it off and firmly believes that scum peoples like Suguru Kamoshida should be turned psychotic or be killed instead of giving like him a second chances when he didn’t even give a mercy to those students who’s begging for him. Justice? That doesn’t exist, nobody in this world could be ever trusted. Everyone will leave, and eventually betray you because of their own agendas or ignorance. Thus, Goro could only trust himself, nobody else.

He didn’t have to worry himself, he’s confident that he’ll come up with an early A-Z plans against Phantom Thieves incase these Phantom Thieves interfered with his own plans. One thing’s for sure, Phantom Thieves also uses Metaverse although it’s not yet proven but it’s bizarre that Kamoshida suddenly changed when there’s no single trace that he’s been drugged or beaten to confess—his condition is perfectly fine.

Time passes by, there’s only a few students who are left in the Shujin Academy. It wouldn’t hurt to try talking to some students to fish information. He finally went out from where he is hiding and looked inside before entering. There he saw a girl who’s wearing her P.E uniform, looking to a flower bed and holding a watering can. He’s ten times taller than her. She had a chin-length curly light auburn hair that looks like a sheep’s wool and brown eyes that looks like a coffee with creamer. Oddly, he found this girl very endearing and had he seen her somewhere before?

“Do you like plants?” He didn’t mean to startle the cute girl. But rather he felt questioning her first rather greeting her with typical ‘Hi’ and ‘Hello’.

“Yes, I do.” She answered. After a few seconds her eyes widened, “Wait—are you perhaps the Detective Prince? Goro Akechi-san?”

Goro chuckled how she’s late to realize it was indeed the Detective Prince, “Shh. Don’t tell anyone I came here, it’s a secret between us.” He made a silence gesture and winks using his left eye.

The cute girl nodded.

“And please, drop the ‘-san’.” He added.

“Then… we’re in the same age, so can I regard you as Goro-kun?”

“That’s certainly fine rather than Goro Akechi-san.” He made an okay gesture. “Can I ask for your name?”

“It’s Haru Okumura. Calling me Haru is fine.” She introduced herself.

The moment Goro heard her name, the Okumura surname is familiar. A memory flashed in his mind, that Kunikazu Okumura is one of Masayoshi Shido’s threat list. Why is that?  Shido needed to keep an eye on Okumura since he heard he also wanted to rise as a politician. And Goro saw in his profile that he had a sole daughter, Haru Okumura. That’s why he felt familiar of this cute girl.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Haru.”

She warmly smiled, “It’s an honor to meet a great detective like you, Goro-kun.” When he heard her said ‘great’ he felt joy at the same time sad, but the joy he felt prevails.

“You flatter me.” He rubbed his nape.

“It’s no flatter Goro-kun, it’s totally amazing how you were able to solve this horrifying cases of mental shutdowns.” He looked into her eyes, it was a real praise coming from her not just because she wanted something from him or take advantage of his popularity to boast that the Prince Detective believed her words. He also learned how to read people’s expressions.

“Thank you.” He was lost for words, but a ‘thank you’ slipped out.

“Don’t you have things to do, Goro-kun? The dusk will be night soon.” Haru asked.

“Worry not, Haru. I’m not really busy at this moment.” Goro answered.

“Well then, why did you come here? Is it because of the case of Mr. Kamoshida?” Haru couldn’t think of anything else, since it’s only proper that a Detective went here because of what happened in her school—mainly about Kamoshida’s surprising change of heart.

“You can say that, Haru.”

“I see. I’m not part of the Volleyball team, so I’m not suited to answer your questions Goro-kun.”

“It’s okay that you don’t.”

“I heard a lot of rumors about Mr. Kamoshida abusing students, but I actually didn’t expect it to be true. I guess it turns out that bad people often disguises as a holy angel.” Haru started to talk about what she thinks. “Thanks to the Phantom Thieves, these oppressed students were finally reached.” She added, having that relief of smile that there’s someone who could make a criminal confess their crime.

“You believe in Phantom Thieves?” Goro asked, he’s curious.

“Yes, there’s no other explanation why Mr. Kamoshida suddenly changed heart. They also dropped their calling card, it’s an evidence that Phantom Thieves exist. Some people will believe and others don’t. But I’m one of the people who believes they are real, if they aren’t, they cannot change Mr. Kamoshida’s heart in the first place. Right?” Haru has a point. Goro also believes that Phantom Thieves do exist otherwise this wouldn’t happen to Kamoshida’s sudden change of heart. “The only question here is that, how they can change heart? It’s like turning to some kind of fantasy, isn’t it? Maybe that’s why others won’t buy this Phantom Thieves thing.” She added.

“I, certainly on the same boat as you, Haru.” Goro said.

Haru tried her best to push the cart that contains heavy fertilizers and keep it inside the gardening tools shed. Goro volunteered to help her in his own will. She thanked him for helping her and it was very nice of him.

“You’re very welcome.” He replied.

Haru started to stretch her arms as she’s finally done for today.

Goro noticed how Haru’s face has a smudge of dirt maybe because of her putting fertilizers on the school’s plants and when her drenched face is filled with her own sweat she wipes it off using her hands that are dirty. He fumbled his pants’ pocket to find his handkerchief. He finally fished his handkerchief inside his pocket.

He found it amazing that Haru isn’t picky or complaining about gardening, it seems she truly loves doing it. Usually, people hated to be dirty, digging germs-filled soil with some kind of earthworms wriggling around, or removing weird-looking pests to these plants. It’s kind of rare seeing people liking gardening.

When Haru turned around to look at Goro, she was surprised that Goro wiped her sweat and dirt away on her face. She didn’t realize that she’s been talking to him straight with this kind of appearance. Oh, how embarrassing that she’s enthusiastic talking to him without fixing herself.

“And there, done.” He finished wiping her face.

“S-Sorry that you have to do that, it was maybe uncomfortable for you to talk with me when I had sweat and dirt on my face.” She apologized.

“What?” And then he released a hearty laugh, “You’re mistaken, Haru. It doesn’t matter whether your face is dirty or not, I choose to talk to you because I like to. When I wiped that sweat and dirt on your face, it means you did a great job.” He explained.

Haru was touched when he said that she did a great job, “Th-Thank you, Goro-kun.” She said it with her brightest grin. But then she remembered that Goro’s handkerchief turned dirty, “I really apologize that you have to use your handkerchief. Don’t worry, I’ll wash it!” Then she bowed her head.

Goro also smiled, “If you insist.” He handed his handkerchief to Haru, “When will I have it?”

“How about tomorrow? Let’s meet in Shibuya! Hmm… where in Shibuya?” She ponders. “Aha! How about in Big Bang Burger? In 7:00PM, let’s meet there.” She suggested.

Goro thinks about it carefully whether he have a schedule tomorrow in 7:00PM, but he recalled none. So, he eventually agreed to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I tried to headcanon Haru's past in this chapter.

**H** aru Okumura is very delighted. Few minutes ago, Goro left Shujin Academy and bids her a farewell. She’s anticipating tomorrow, but it felt like the tomorrow is far away from her reach. How long has it been since she felt excitement in her life?

She looked at the handkerchief that was used to wipe her sweat and dirt away on her face. Goro’s handkerchief color was khaki and it had a white checkered printed pattern. She noticed that this is a personalized handkerchief since it has an initials of stylish-cursive ‘AG’ and at the top of the initials, there’s a Black-Eyed Susan flower embroidered on it. Haru find his handkerchief very beautiful.

She quickly needs to wash the dirt away, or else it would stay a faded color forever. It would be a shame if the handkerchief wouldn’t return to its beautiful state just because of a mere stain. It didn’t take any longer until a limousine arrived in front of the school’s gate. Her chauffeur went outside of the driver’s seat to assist Haru getting inside.

“Isn’t it a good afternoon, Miss Haru?”

“Indeed it is, Sir.” She replied with a wide smile on her lips. “Oh, but afternoon will turn night soon, isn’t it?” Then she giggled.

Her chauffeur guessed that Haru had a great day. “Yes, it will indeed turn soon, Miss Haru.” He agreed.

For Haru, it’s been a while since she talked to someone casually. When she’s inside school premises, she can’t even talk like that to others. She’ll talk if it’s related to school assignments, projects, activities, or even recitations. If she’s being honest, she didn’t have friends yet although the month passed when the school started. She’s also aware that some people behind their backs are talking about her.

She’s a transfer student of Shujin Academy last year, and everyone knew she is the sole daughter of Kunikazu Okumura who owned the Okumura Foods. She felt nervous and worried how she can have friends since she knew that she’s different from everyone else. Surprisingly, many of her classmates approached her and greeting her like they really wanted to become friends with her.

She easily befriended these peoples, but she noticed that there’s something wrong after three months in her second-year. Because she heard a conversation of her close friends talking behind her how they only used her for their own benefits. At that time, she decided to distance herself from her former friends that she already regarded as a false. After a few days, she met another person whom she noticed who’s also alone in her class. His name was Asahi Mamoru.

If you were to describe Asahi’s appearance, he looks simple but not quite appealing for others. He had chestnut-colored unkempt hair and he hides his left eye with his long bangs. He also owns a wireframe glasses that he probably always uses, since she sees him wearing it every day. He’s also the shortest male in their class, but she’s no taller than him.

She didn’t know what came into her mind that she firstly approached him. She can relate to him because he’s also awkward with everyone else and they almost have the same interests. Haru was surprised that Asahi’s father works at the Okumura Foods. They became best friends, and it was also her first time falling in love with someone else. She’s ready to confess her feelings for Asahi, but something happened that’s why they weren’t friends anymore.

After five months, Asahi was absent for two executive weeks. Of course, Haru was worried for her best friend. She tried contact him, but he doesn’t answer. The calls won’t reach Asahi anymore as she decided to go at her best friend’s address. When she landed her shoes on Asahi’s location, she’s frozen from where she’s standing. She saw a funeral at his home. It wasn’t Asahi dead, but his father was.

Asahi told her the cause of his father’s death, it’s heart attack. But Asahi believed that there is a foul play to his father’s death. Asahi believed that it was Kunikazu Okumura who wishes Asahi’s father to be dead. In which, Haru defended her father that he wouldn’t do something like that. Her best friend firmly believes that Kunikazu Okumura is behind all of this and disagrees with Haru.

He explained that his father was the one who started to form a group to rally against Okumura Foods because of their unfair treatment to their employees. Asahi’s father said this to his family before he died. Haru finds Asahi’s word difficult to believe. Asahi said that if Haru continues to side with her father, they aren’t friends anymore. She chose her family rather than her best friend, that’s how their friendship ended. She left brokenhearted without confessing what she felt for Asahi.

After going back to school, she never saw Asahi again as she heard from their class adviser that Asahi transferred to another school. She heard a lot of bad rumors about Okumura Foods. She didn’t question her father about it yet, since he wasn’t always home and she completely believes in him. Then, nasty rumors about her started to sprout out of nowhere. She was always bullied, when she got inside of her classroom her desk and chair were filled with graffiti that says different cursed words, or see her desk and chair were placed in the center of the school’s track and field.

The bullying stopped when Kunikazu noticed that Haru went back home, all drenched in water and she smelled reek. He warned Shujin Academy that they shouldn’t dare to hurt his daughter just because of some stupid rumors, if it happened again he told that he will sue the whole school.

When she asked Kunikazu about Asahi’s father, he simply dismisses the topic. He insists that Asahi’s father had an illness of his own and it was his fate to die. That’s what her father told her, so she held on to it.

After that, she never experienced bullying again but students distanced themselves away from her, fearing the Okumura would do something to them and they will talk something nasty about her when she isn’t around. She became invisible in almost everyone’s eyes, since she doesn’t stand out and some students don’t really care or know her surname. It continued like this even when she’s already in her third-year.

She’s quite surprised that a famous detective like Goro would talk to her. It’s only natural since he didn’t know her at all (at least that’s what she thought). She thinks that maybe if she wasn’t standing in front of the flower beds he wouldn’t start to create a conversation. She saw him in TVs and Social Medias numerous times, and it’s amazing how he thoroughly investigates the cases of mental shutdowns and solve it by himself.

The first thing she thought why Goro asked her a question, is because maybe he doesn’t know where to start and that’s why she answered right away. She figured out that Goro went to her school because he wanted to gather information of what happened to Suguru Kamoshida and Phantom Thieves. It’s because he’s a detective after all.

She never expected that Goro told her that she did a great job, honestly, it made her happy. It’s been a while since she never heard those words. She wondered what kind of person Goro truly is. He seems cheerful and your typical friendly neighbor, but is that really all of it? She couldn’t tell whether it was really kind of him or is it a show-off because it’s given to his image to be kind? She doesn’t know what to think anymore.

If Goro didn’t said those words she wouldn’t think about it deeply. He shouldn’t have bothered wiping her face using his personalized handkerchief of his? Maybe he had a lot of handkerchiefs to spare? Her mind tells her that, there’s also a part of her that this is only his important handkerchief. She thought that humans are so complicated to understand, she also included herself.

What’s done is done. Her excitement prevails. She shouldn’t think too much. She tried to be positive about things, as the past is already a past.

Without realizing, Haru already arrived back at her home. One of their butlers opened the door for her to step out of the limousine. Their household staff greeted her, it was not really new as she’s accustomed to it. They only greet her, just because it is their job to do so.

When she finally got inside their house, as usual, her father wasn’t present anywhere. Why did she have hopes that he will be in here this time — like for every day? She sighed.

She remembered the handkerchief that she’s holding.

Haru started to wash the beautiful handkerchief with a detergent soap until the stains went away. When she’s satisfied, she soaked it in a pleasant fabric conditioner. She washed it again, and the next step she twisted and squeezed it so the water will go out from the handkerchief. She hummed in satisfaction when she smelled the fabric’s fragrance, and it’s done. All she needs to do is to make the fabric dry.

She hangs it on her empty dry rack and she can’t believe for herself that she stares the fabric, mainly focused at the embroidered Black-Eyed Susan and the ‘AG’ initials. She is going to return it tomorrow, and they’ll meet up in Shibuya — Big Bang Burger. She flopped herself on her bed and started to close her eyes.

Thinking of only one word: Tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated. Here's Chapter 4 as my apology.
> 
> I'd like to thank @whysterias for helping me in this Chapter! I'll do my best to improve my writing skills! ;;

**W** hy did Goro Akechi agree to meet up with the cute girl whom he just met? Honestly, he couldn’t care about the handkerchief. He could just pay another tailor to create a new, personalized one since it wasn’t from his mother. He only got it when finally decided to throw away his weak identity as ‘Masahiro Goro’.

Yet why did he agree? How did it end up like this? This was…unexpected. He calculated things, but he definitely didn’t expect this result.

It would be rude of him not to come. Besides, the cute girl was counting on him. She surely was expecting him. It felt nice knowing that someone was expecting him. He shouldn’t let her nor others down and fail them the way his father failed him. He refused to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“7:00 PM at the Big Bang Burger in Shibuya, huh?” He stared at his smartphone, a Sony Xperia, to check the time and date.

His smartphone told him it was already 3:24PM on Monday, May 9, 20XX. He checked the weather again, and it said it’ll be sunny. The news also told him about the nice weather through his Smart TV early that morning. Wait, why was he worried about the weather in the first place?

His smartphone startled him a bit when he heard a faint sound and felt a constant vibration. A new call popped out on his smartphone’s screen along with two choices for him to accept or reject the call. His eyes turned sour when he saw who the hell was calling him at this hour.

He didn’t have much of a choice, did he? He looked around him before he sneakily walked away from his classroom to a secluded place. He thankfully managed to get out before his fangirls could trap and swoon over him. Sometimes, it got annoying, but he would still  warmly accept their admiration.

After confirming that he was alone, he tapped the accept circle on his smartphone and brought it to his left ear.

“Oh, Shido-san, this call is truly unexpected.” He plastered on a pleasant tone. He was disgusted, but if he wanted to keep his enemies close, he needed to poison them with the illusion of being their ally. “Do you need something?”

“Yes, I need something! It’s urgent.” Goro couldn’t contain his widening smile. How blissful it was to hear scum like Masayoshi Shido say that they needed him with desperation.

 _How pitiful._ It delighted Goro. He cleared his throat, “Urgent? Are you sure, Shido-san?”

“Definitely.” A firm answer from the latter. “ If my intuition is correct, there’s a spy inside that was poorly hired by the peasants! I think the spy has already gathered enough data to use as evidence against me! I want you to kill him, right now!”

Right now? But he still needed to meet up Haru later. He looked at his watch for the time: 3:27PM. Did he have enough time to finish this? Could he really finish it with such limited time? Should he make an excuse? Besides, this request was so sudden.

Sometimes, he wondered if Masayoshi had something up his sleeve.

“Shido-san, you’re thinking too much. There’s no way that sole spy would turn the tables. Besides, the masses favor you. No politician can—“

“You don’t understand a damn thing, do you?! I want my image to be clean. No one should doubt me.” Goro could hear the irritation and impatience in Masayoshi’s voice.

Oh, how Goro wanted to make him suffer. If he didn’t have self-control, he’d likely choke Masayoshi’s neck until the damn bastard couldn’t open his eyes anymore. Goro deeply inhaled then exhaled.

“Fine, Shido-san. Make sure to send me the information about this spy you’re talking about. Then...I’ll do the rest.” He was sure that he could do this and still have time to go to Shibuya and meet Haru. “You can count on me, Shido-san.” He said it with a pleasant voice filled with poison.

“Yes. I’m counting on you.” Masayoshi ended the call and proceeded to send over the files that Goro needed for this mission.

Goro truly couldn’t contain his laughter. Slowly, but surely, his plans were coming into fruition. He just needed a little bit more to definitely reach his goal. After he received information about the sole spy, he quickly went to a place that only a few, special people knew about.

He didn’t think that killing the spy’s shadow would be difficult. It annoyed Goro. He expected that it would be a weakling but, to his surprise, it wasn’t. It meant that the spy’s desires were strong, but was that reflected in its powers? What did this this spy desire? Goro quickly dismissed these questions once he remembered his goal. He shouldn’t give a damn about others.

If he wanted to go back and survive once again, he needed to defeat this difficult shadow. It looked like he was going to be late.

 

Although they planned to meet at exactly 7:00PM, Haru headed to Shibuya before their meeting time. She figured that maybe a Detective Prince like Goro would be earlier than her. It would be embarrassing if she arrived late and kept him waiting. She was glad that there wouldn’t be any rain that day. Maybe they could talk about themselves while walking around, but was that alright?

She gasped when she remembered that Goro wasn’t just a normal boy: he was a Detective Prince. He was a celebrity. They would inevitably encounter his fangirls if they took a stroll. She was definitely at a disadvantage. His fangirls would _probably_ glare at her. Also, Goro would _probably_ feel uncomfortable. Why hadn’t she considered that from the start?

 _How tactless of me to invite Goro-kun here…_ She sighed because she couldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t have Goro’s contact info, and he probably wouldn’t have given it to her since they had just met.

She started to think that maybe Goro wouldn’t come to such a public area. She quickly went to the Big Bang Burger, but she didn’t see him anywhere.

“He’s not here…” Haru did not expect this. She wanted to tell herself that maybe she got there earlier than him. She shouldn’t start thinking such negative thoughts.

She waited for him in front of Big Bang Burger. While waiting, she looked above at the stars, but she didn’t see anything because the night clouds covered them. She clenched her eyes when she felt something wet drop exactly  onto her right eye.

Slowly, more drops fell down until the clouds decided to release their downpour. She looked disappointed that it rained. The weather forecast said today would be okay. She didn’t bring an umbrella with her. How was she going home? The moment she stepped out of the awning, she would get wet.

She decided that she would wait for the rain to disappear before going home. In this heavy rain, Haru doubted that Goro would come. But, nevertheless, she decided to wait a little bit longer. Maybe something came up? He was a Detective Prince after all.

Her shoes started to get wet. Her left foot fidgeted. A fast motorbike went by and splashed water that made Haru’s lower body wet. She quickly fished in her skirt’s pocket to if Goro’s handkerchief was wet. She sighed in relief when she found that it wasn’t.

She decided that she should enter Big Bang Burger before she got completely wet because of the heavy rain. She sat down near the window in order to easily spot Goro or have him see her.

“Oh my, Miss Okumura! You’re wet! Don’t worry; we have a spare towel. Just wait a minute.” A hired employee inside the Big Bang Burger recognized her.

“O-Okay, Ma’am. Thank you.”

She didn’t have to wait too long for the towel to arrive, and she was served a free meal.  Haru insisted that she pay, but it wasn’t necessary since her own father ordered that she would have a free meal whenever she visited Big Bang Burger. She didn’t have a choice but to accept the meal.

She took a bite of the french fries, while she played a fun application installed on her smartphone. When she got bored, she locked her smartphone. She needed to conserve her smartphone’s energy.

The rain continued to fall. Time also continued to move. She didn’t realize that it was already 8:47PM. He was already one hour and 47 minutes late. And the rain hadn’t stopped yet. Also, her eyes started to get droopy.

 _Damn that shadow, it took me forever to take it down._ He cursed. Instead of calling Masayoshi, Goro just sent him a message that his mission was completed. He also didn’t expect the rain today. Sometimes, the accuracy of the weather reports was inconsistent.

He rushed to Shibuya, and he wondered if Haru already went home. _She surely must’ve, right?_ He firmly held the black umbrella. Why did he even bother running to Shibuya when it was obvious that she wouldn’t go with this heavy rain?

He looked at the Big Bang Burger but didn’t see Haru outside. He decided to look closely, and he saw her covered in a towel through the window. She looked like she was going to fall asleep any second now.

He didn’t expect her to wait for him. He was one hour and 47 minutes late. It was the second time that something unexpected happened unexpected that day. He closed his umbrella and placed it on the Big Bang Burger’s umbrella rack. And he went inside the fast-food chain.

“Welcome, Sir!” A hired employee greeted him, but she gasped when she saw Goro in the flesh. Surely, she wasn’t dreaming… correct? “I-Isn’t that—?”

“Get your ass back to work, Shizuna.” A senior hired employee said to which Shizuna completely complied.

He felt _a little bit_ guilty making Haru wait. If it were another person, would they willingly wait for his despite the heavy rain? They probably would’ve insisted on  meeting him another day when the weather was clear or head home because he made them wait too long during this heavy rain. Maybe Haru waited because he was an ace Detective Prince? He shouldn’t question something like that.

He sat across from Haru. He didn’t realize it, but he was smiling when he saw her. Haru’s eyes went wide when she saw that Goro really arrived at their meeting place.

“G-Goro-kun!”

He rubbed his nape and embarrassingly chuckled, “I made you wait, Haru. My apologies. I hope this doesn’t happen again…”

“Don’t worry about it, Goro-kun.”

“I’m pretty sure you doubted me, correct? I mean, I understand. I made you wait for almost two hours.” Goro said.

Haru nodded. “Um, yes, it’s shameful that I did — I’m sorry. But I still waited because I was the one who brought up the idea from the start, so I felt responsible for it.”

“You don’t have to say sorry, Haru. Because I was late,  you doubt me. The fault is all mine.” Goro paused for a brief moment before he continued, “Actually, I thought you already went home, but I checked just in case. I’m surprised you’re still here waiting for me.”

Haru giggled. “Let us not blame ourselves. What’s done is done. We’re already here, and we met!”

“You have a point but, next time, please don’t wait for someone if you’re not sure if they’re coming.” When Goro said that, it sounded like he implying something else. But maybe it was only Haru’s imagination.

“But you did come, Goro-kun.”

 _Wha—?!_ Goro was taken aback at what she just said, but he quickly said something before she could notice his surprised composure. “I did. But what if it was someone else? Please, consider that. You might get yourself in a dangerous situation, Haru.”

“I’m glad you’re concerned, Goro-kun.” She shot him a toothy grin that he found really endearing. “Don’t fret. I’ll consider that.”

“That’s assuring.” Goro said.

“Speaking of which, have you eaten yet?” Oh, he remembered that he hadn’t had dinner. He looked at Haru who had a single tray of emptied french fries, small packs of tomato ketchup, a regular softdrink, and a wrapped burger that wasn’t eaten yet.

“No… I haven’t.” He answered.

“Well, I haven’t eaten my burger yet if you’d like it.  Would you like anything else? It’s my treat.” She began fishing for her purse  inside her skirt’s pocket.

Goro was surprised that Haru wanted to treat him. Wasn’t that embarrassing? He should be the one offering to treat her since he made her wait for too long.

“That’s not really necessary, Haru. I can pay  for my own food.” He turned down her offer.

“Eh? Don’t be shy, Goro-kun.”

“I’m not being shy...besides, I still owe you for washing my handkerchief and being too late. So, please agree that I’ll treat you to some ice-cream — wait no, it’s cold tonight. Then what should I…?”

She giggled again. “So, it’s a win-win situation huh?” Goro blinked at what she said.. “I’ll agree but on another day since it’s not suitable to eat ice-cream today, right?” Will they ever meet up again though?

“Here’s your handkerchief, and please accept this burger.” She handed the newly washed handkerchief. The scent was lovely since it didn’t make him feel dizzy. “Don’t worry about the burger. It’s alright. You’ll treat me to ice-cream for being late, right?”

“Right… I suppose I should plan the schedule, correct?” He unwrapped the burger’s wrapper. He started to smell the delicious aroma of the burger.

“Yes.”

“I’m not really sure about my schedule…” He recalled that he had a busy schedule for this week. But he had a brilliant idea. “What about this? Let’s exchange our contact so I can message you.” He unlocked his smartphone and tapped the phone icon. The number keyboard appeared.

He gave his smartphone to her. “Are you sure about this, Goro-kun?”

He nodded. “Of course. Start punching in your number.”

“Then…” She also fished around her skirt’s pocket to get her phone. “Punch yours in, too.” They exchanged numbers and finally saved their numbers on their own contact list.

They realized that the heavy rain finally stopped, but they didn’t notice that the time flew by so fast. It was already 10:10PM. Goro offered to walk her home, but Haru refused because someone was going to pick her up, but Goro insisted that he should see her picked up at least.

She didn’t know who would pick her up. When that someone arrived, Goro had a bad feeling about the man who stepped out of the limousine. Goro noticed that Haru started feeling uncomfortable.

“S-Sugimura-san…” She said.

“Oh? I didn’t expect you to be with the famous ace Detective.” The well-dressed man said, amused. But Goro noticed the concealed irritation behind that faked amusement.

“Um… yeah…” She said, uncertain of what to say.

“Your suit is quite stunning, Sir.” Goro complimented to which the well-dressed man didn’t say anything to. “Is he accompanying you back home, Haru?” Goro asked, wanting to confirm this. For all he knew, it could be someone that Haru didn’t really know.

If she denied it, things could get worse. As a detective, it would be a big problem if Goro found out about anything that could potentially harm the both of them.

“Yes.” She said. “It’s nice talking with you. Goodbye.” She concealed her nervousness around Sugimura so Goro wouldn’t worry anymore.

She entered inside the limousine, “Have a good day, Mr. Detective Prince.” The well-dressed man said as if  mocking him.

He watched as the limousine disappeared before his eyes. He got her contact, but he wondered what exactly was happening to Haru? He decided to set that aside since there was no point in  worrying over things. Maybe he should try asking her about it when he finally found himself free to treat her for ice cream.


End file.
